Adoption & The Media - Major Network Now Casting For Adoptive Families

We are casting for a brand new series and are seeking “people at a crossroad.” We are seeking people who find themselves at a major crossroads in their lives, particularly an adoptive family faced with a difficult decision about searching for birthparents. The family will have the opportunity to speak with a handful of people who’ve already gone through a similar situation and are living with the outcome of their decision. Our ‘people at a crossroads’ can then use wisdom gleaned from the other folks to make a more educated decision about what might be the best decision for them.

— Network producers

A major television network has reached out to me to assist in their casting for adoptive families for one episode in a series about people facing difficult decisions. They are specifically looking for families who are trying to decide whether or not to seek out the adoptee’s birth family. I am choosing to help the network for this series because one of my specific goals within the adoption field is to help normalize adoption language, re-allocate adoptive parents' fears about the process and de-stigmatize adoptees decision to search for their birth parents.

I had concerns about whether or not to post this advertisement as it seems that Hollywood is unable to resist exploiting adoption stories to pad their ratings. I spoke with the producers and voiced my specific concerns about their ability to portray adoption in an honest and integrous manner and was assured that casting for this specific episode will not be done in an attempt to sensationalize a family's story.

The fact that this network has sought out my advice seems to be evidence towards their understanding of the precarious nature of the topic, and the need for accuracy in their depictions of all involved. Their decision to include a panel of others who’ve lived through the experience shows their commitment to the post-reunion/post-reality show consequences. Stories are a powerful educational tool - a well done episode can help to move society forward in re-framing societal perceptions of adoption, curb the myths and normalize the complexity inherent within adoptive families.

If you are an adoptive family facing the decision about whether or not to search for the adoptee's birth family and are open to being cast for this episode, please contact me, and I will forward your name along to the producers.